The lightweight packaging is made entirely of post-consumer materials such as milk and orange juice containers, and morning coffee lids. The box is produced from a single process Polypropylene with no added chemicals. The modular design allows it to be used as a stackable, interlocking component of a product display or storage system, Nike says.

“These are all intentional features and qualities which revolve around the intent of every Miniwiz product — reducing the impact on the environment in every way it can,” Huang said in a statement. “In this case, we’re adding features and efficiency to an existing product (shoe boxes) and by re-using non-virgin materials in a sustainable and responsible way.”

The package can also be used as a backpack and is recyclable. Nike begin using the shoe box for its NikeLab Air Max 1 Royal in China this month and will launch the product and its sustainable packaging globally next month.

Nike’s announcement comes as several leading companies are employing circular economy approaches to creating new packaging from various waste streams.

In January Procter & Gamble, in partnership with recycling and environmental management companies TerraCycle and Suez, developed the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from up to 25 percent recycled beach plastic.

For these reasons the global demand for recyclable, bio-based and other sustainable packaging types will reach about $440.3 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of around 7.7 percent, according to a Research and Markets report.